This calculator will determine the total amount of work performed on an object. Enter the force and distance to calculate the work(energy). If the force is applied at an angle relative to displacement, enter the angle into the calculator. If there is no angle, leave that value blank.

## Work Formula

Work is the total amount of energy exerted on an object or system through some force over a distance. Work can be calculated through the following formula.

W = F*D

• Where W is the work
• F is the total force
• D is the total displacement

Where force is applied to an object directly at 0 degrees. When a force is applied at an angle the formula will be the following:

Work = Force * Distance * cos (theta)

Where theta is the angle of force applied relative to the displacement of the object. The SI unit of work is the joule (J). The SI units for force and distance (displacement) are Newtons (N) and meters (m) respectively. This calculator is unitless so it allows you to choose the units for yourself. Just be sure to research and make sure the units you use are in the same base, or you can end up with some wildly inaccurate results.

## How to calculate work

As we know from the equation above, work is calculated through the product of force and distance. This force is then a product of mass and acceleration. So to calculate work, the first step is to calculate acceleration. To do that you can visit the acceleration calculator, or simply use the formula F=ma.

The next step is to calculate distance. This can be done in several ways. In the case that two coordinate points are given, you can simply calculate the distance through the distance between points calculator or a formula. Other times, the total distance can be calculated through the average velocity. Simply take the average velocity of an object and multiply it by the total time passed.

Now that you have your force and distance, simply multiply the two values to get work. Sometimes, however, the force acting on an object is not acting directly in the same direction of the movement. In these cases, you must take into consideration the angle of the force, as explained in the above formula.

## FAQ

What is work?

Work is a measure of the total force applied over a distance.